Mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones and laptops) include multiple radio hardware, including radio circuitry for WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular network access. WiFi network circuitry (e.g., wireless network interfaces), even with power saving modes enabled, may consume more energy than the mobile phone's cellular network circuitry. Moreover, the WiFi network circuitry includes a WiFi locator utility, generally implemented by software, which runs in the background and monitors the activity of wireless networks around the device on which it operates. For each detected network it provides information about the network, including service set identifier (SSID) and signal quality. Because the WiFi network circuitry continuously monitors for new WiFi access points, battery life is compromised.